About The Islander. (St. Simons Island, Ga.) 1972-current | View Entire Issue (Oct. 21, 2024)
Page 10, October 21, 2024, The Islander KTews Finally the wood is in the fireplace just waiting for the match to strike. If you see smoke from our chimney, just stop by and share a real fire with me. I join with several local churches in extending sympathy to the family and friends of Jameson “Jay” Gregg Jr. St. Simons Presbyterian Church extends sympathy to the family and friends of Richard Ege- land and Susie Ledingham and Evan Nicholson. Flowers were placed in St. William Catholic Church in memory of Jim Poole by Tyre and Martha Hayden. Dianne Smoot is welcomed as a new member of St. Simons United Methodist Church. Sympathy is expressed to the family and friends of Gil Erbisch. St. Simons First Baptist Church welcomes their new Senior Pastor Rev. Rob James. Flowers were placed in the church by Buddy and Brenda Adams in appreciation for the many prayers and kindnesses during the past year. Flowers were placed in Brunswick First United Methodist Church in memory of Gary Glen from wife Shari Glen and daughters Victoria and Cathy. Frederica Baptist Church ex tends congratulations to Bill and Linda Hord in the birth of their Great Grandchild Zoey Renne Nelson. Con gratulations also to Devin and Natalie Eicher on the birth of their daughter Loretta Ventessa. Glyndale Baptist Church ex tends sympathy to the family and friends of Ms. Marty Baggett in the loss of their loved one. Have fun at one or more of these lo cal Fall events. St Simons First Baptist Church Fall Festival - Wednesday October 23 - 5 to 7 p.m. Calvary Baptist Church Fall Festival with music/food/games and fun - Saturday October 26-11 a.m. to 2 p.m. St. Simons United Methodist Church - Pumpkin Patch - Monday through Friday 2 p.m. - 8 p.m.; Satur day and Sunday 9:30 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. Brunswick Christian Renewal Church - Tailgate Sunday October 27 - 5 to 7 p.m. Brunswick First Baptist Church will host Trunk or Treat on October 31 - corner of Gloucester and Newcastle Streets from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. Enjoy great music, lots of candy, food trucks and more. Literary Guild Event Friday, November 8 - A Celebration of Children’s Books - 10:30 AM - St. Simons Casino Theater (530 Beach- view Dr). Four authors will discuss their books. The event is free for Lit erary Guild members and $10 for non members. Reservations are required and may be made at LitGuildSSI.org Judges Continued from Page 9 never been explained how they ar rived at that number. There is a stat ute that dictates the minimum that we be paid, but nothing to explain why. Our part timers get $18,000 a year while the part time juvenile judges get $77,000 a year. The part time juvenile prosecutor gets $70,000 a year and does not have near the case load we do. It would be a huge increase but I don’t see any other way to look at it.” Commissioner David Sweat (Dist. 4) asked what other magistrate judg es make. Morgan said he called around and Wayne County is on a par with what Glynn judges make, but in Atlanta “it’s six figures.” He noted the disparity in the in come of the part time legal workers in Glynn. Neal said he would like to look into the number of hours and tasks the judges perform. Neal said that working with the juvenile judge on the new juvenile system courthouse, he knows something about the hours they put in. Morgan commented that magis trates are paid on a flat rate; the only court on call 24/7; they can not go anywhere when they are on call. In response to a question from Sweat, Morgan said that while they could keep track of the hours the judges spend in the courtroom, it was not easy tracking the hours spent on call. “No one has ever tried to track those because no one has ever come here and tried to fix this,” said Mor gan, “These positions have never been discussed, even with my long history in the magistrate court.” Commissioner Allen Booker said he would like to know how their pay is calculated. Neal said they could work to get these answers. Morgan said that the magistrates are aware of the discrepancy in their pay and that he is there asking for the increase. “If I lose them,” he said, “I’m in trouble.” Commissioner Sammy Tostensen (Dist. 1) asked, “If we can reach an agreement on this, when would you like to see it go into effect?” Morgan said, “Quite frankly I’d like to see it go into effect retroactive ly a few months ago.” Tostensen noted the budget for the current year has been set. Morgan said if there’s no fund ing source they would have no other choice than for it go into effect next July at the start of the next fiscal year. “But,” he added, “I put my re quest in before my last county finance budget meeting. I put it in in writing. I was told there was a cost of living raise coming, but that was it.” County Manager Bill Fallon said they would do some research and comparisons on the salaries. He also said he was not sure about the com parison to other part time judges of hours spent on cases. Fallon asked if the magistrate was using the e-warrant, the Electronic Warrant Management App system. Morgan said yes they were in the process of looking at a new e-warrant system. He said they tried another system but it did not work well and the IT Department pulled the plug on it. He said the new company they were considering would have to get back to them with a cost because Glynn’s 6,000 warrants a year was high. Fallon said the county police have done more search warrants this year than in the last five years, so he was aware they are working the magis trate judges. Morgan agreed saying, “We also have city police, school police, port police, state patrol, they are all com ing to us for search warrants.” Fallon also suggested that the magistrates track their hours. Morgan reiterated they get paid a flat rate. Fallon said, “We’ll put together some additional information and share it with the commission and with Judge Morgan.” Lawrenc Let us help you with your ‘Honey Do’ List We are your local handyman Tony Lawrence 912-778-8664 Quality, custom framing with a personal touch FRAME • SHOP 1403 Newcastle Street • Brunswick • 912.262.0050 Old fashioned service, New fashioned products! ST. SIMONS DRt'G CO. We oiler a variety of small gilts by lcx:al artists, beauty products, prescription anti over the counter medications and hope you’ll continue to make Us jour first choice. 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